RIVE Maroc is an annual meeting of electric vehicles that takes place in Morocco, the starting point being Tangier and the end point Ouarzazate. The goal behind this project is to promote electric mobility and sustainable tourism. To ensure that participants can charge their vehicles along the approximately 800km distance, the RIVE Maroc duo Silvia Brutschin and Samira Arjdal partner with several organizations including hotels and municipalities which set up charging stations. The stops along the two cities not only help to map out a route for anyone driving an electric vehicle in Morocco, but also gives rally participants an opportunity to experience the varying culture and nature. The team further partners with the social humanitarian network Labdoo through which they get recycled laptops that are donated via participants to schools that need the support.
Samira, an environmentalist at heart, was the first African woman to participate in WAVE, the world’s largest international rally of electric cars. She developed an interest in protecting the environment after COP 22 took place in Morocco in 2016. Together with a team of engineers and technical managers, she converted a normal car into an electric car, thus she became passionate about electric mobility.
Her advice to young people is to believe in themselves and to just take the first step towards achieving their dreams. She shares that her journey in organising the event has been challenging and the achievement has been surprising to not only for her family, but to herself as well. She didn’t know what she could accomplish until she started doing it, gaining experience and learning from her mistakes.
If you are interested in participating in RIVE Maroc, you can reach out to the team through the contacts provided on their website. You can participate with your own electric vehicle or if you don’t have one, you can get paired with a participant that wants a co-pilot.
